The field of the invention generally relates to a selective ice dispenser optionally capable of dispensing either whole ice pieces or crushed ice, and more particularly relates to apparatus and method for preventing whole ice pieces from being dispensed in the ice crushing mode of operation.
Selective ice crushers that can optionally dispense either crushed ice or whole ice cubes have been used in conventional household refrigerators for many years, and commonly are located in the freezer sections of side-by-side refrigerators. Two such selective ice dispensers are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,602,441 issued Aug. 31, 1971 and 4,176,527 issued Dec. 4, 1979.
In a recent selective ice dispenser, a reversible motor is provided for driving a shaft, and the axial direction of rotation of the shaft determines whether crushed ice or whole ice cubes or pieces are dispensed. More specifically, a set of crusher blades are center mounted on the shaft for rotation therewith inside an ice crusher chamber, and a set of stationary interleaved crusher blades are positioned on one side of the shaft. When the shaft mounted blades are rotated up and over towards the stationary blades, ice pieces falling on the stationary blade side of the shaft land on the stationary blades, and ice pieces falling on the opposite side of the shaft are carried up and over the shaft by the rotating crusher blades. In either case, the ice cubes are held by the stationary crusher blades and then crushed when the next set of rotating crusher blades comes down on them. When the shaft mounted blades are rotated in the opposite direction, ice pieces on the stationary crusher blade side of the shaft are carried up and over the shaft to the opposite side by the smooth sides of the rotating crusher blades; the carried ice pieces and those ice pieces falling on the opposite side are not caught between the rotating and stationary crusher blades, and therefore they are dispensed intact as whole ice cubes. One problem with such arrangement is that occasionally a whole ice cube can be dispensed in the ice crushing mode. This happens because a cube falls down on the side of the shaft opposite the stationary crusher blades and the bottoms of the rotating crusher blades are not advanced past the vertical orientation far enough so as to catch it and carry it over the top. Accordingly, the ice cube falls straight through and comes out the chute with crushed ice.